Gas lighter



United States Patent O 3,377,122 GAS LIGHTER Kiichi Mori, Tokyo, and Mutsumi Nakamura, Irima-gun, Saitama, Japan, assignors -to Zenza Bronica Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, Japan Filed Apr. 21, 1965, Ser. No. 449,850 Claims priority, application Japan, Apr. 30, 1964, 39/24,184 3 Claims. (Cl. 431-131) This invention rela-tes to a cigarette lighter utilizing a liqueiied petroleum gas such as butane, propane and the like as fuels.

As a general rule, it is essential in lighters of the class described that the operation of the igniting unit is properly synchronized to the emission of gas from the burner unit. However, the conventional gas lighter has had a defect in that the movement of the depressible iinger piece which actuates the igniting unit is wholly translated to the opening of the valve ele-ment, with the result that an amount of gas is apt to flow out superuonsly prior to the ignition. This invention has been made with this defect of the convention-al lighter taken in view, and one object thereof is to provide .a `gas lighter wherein a valve for emission of gas can be opened by means of an operating plate characterized in that said valve is opened in the residual stroke of the movement of a linger piece after said finger piece has moved Ia .predetermined distance of the whole stroke, in contradiction to Ian ignitng unit wherein a flint is chafed -by the rotary movementl of a sparking wheel whi-ch is rotated by the movement of the depressible nger piece which Acovers the whole stroke of the said linger piece from a resting position prior to ignition and a final position subsequent to ignition.

Another object of .the invention is to provide a gas lighter in which lan operating plate for opening and closing a valve is replaceably provided for the engagement with a closure cap rotatable by a depressible lever such as a finger piece, a burner element being provided which is actuated by means of said operating plate, and a oombustible gas contained in the reservoir may ow out from said burner element by way of said valve.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a gas lighter whe-rein the ybase end of the operating plate engageable with the closure Acap is supported by a portion of the outer frame of the outer casing of the lighter and a nozzle is engaged with said opera-ting plate at about its middle part, the resultant effect being that the provision of the opera-ting plate is facilitated and the mounting operation thereof to the lighter body can be performed very easily.

A still further object is to provide a gas lighter wherein a Vbrush which can slidingly be engaged against the sparking wheel is attached to t-he free end of the operating plate which is removably engaged with the tappet portions provided t-o the closure cap, whereby the surface of the sparking wheel may be cleansed of the impurities each time it is rotated.

With these objects in view and other objects herein after set forth, the desired embodiment of the invention will be describe-d with reference to the drawings accompanied hereto.

In the drawings:

`FIG. 1 is a partly sectioned .side elevation of an embodiment of the gas lighter according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partly sectioned side elevation Y of the substantial part of the gas lighter illustrating the operative state thereof;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the operating plate 3,377,122 Patented Apr. 9, 1968 for opening and closing the burner element :and especially illustrating its mounted state on the lighter body; and

FIG. 4 is a plan view of anot-her embodiment of the operating plate lfor opening and closing `the valve element.

Referring now t-o `the drawings, numeral 1 is a rotatable closure cap of the lighter body a, 2 is a main pivotal pin of the closure cap 1 and carried by the standard 3 as commonly seen in the conventional igniting mechanism b, 4 is a sparking wheel rotatably mounted about said pivotal pin 2, and 5 is a depressible finger piece operable to rotate saidwheel 4 and simultaneously said closure cap 1. Numeral 6 is an operating lever adjusted to open and close the valve element with the base portion 7 there-of contacting with the foremost end of the igniting unit b and supported by the portion of the standard 3 which is bent upward-ly and further horizontally of the body a. Halfway of the length of the operating plate 6, it is provided with a recess 8 which i-s engageable with the upper end of the nozzle 9, while the free end of said operating plate 6 has bifurcated ends 10, 10 which are bent slightly upwardly so as lto be releasaibly engaged with the correspond-ing tappet or operating portions 11, 11 formed on the lower ends of said closure cap 1.

In its non-operative state, the tappet portions 11, 11 are spaced 4apart from the Ibifurcated ends 10, 10 at some predetermined distance l, so that said .portions 11, 11 and bifurcated ends 10, 10 can not be engaged until the finger piece 5 has moved some distance which is determined relatively to the said distance l.

It will be seen from the above that by having the spacing l prolonged the moment of releasing the valve element for the emission of gas is retarded, and by having the spacing l reduced the same moment is reduced, the valve element may be opened at the most appropriate moment of ignition by simply adjusting the spacing l to a desired length, with the result that a superfluous discharge of the gas is avoided and the ignition can be operated with .a minimum of the consumption of fuels.

In another embodiment of the invention, a connecting part 12 may be provided in advance between the ends 10, 10 which will be effective as reinforcing element of the operating plate 6 and which will be ei-cient to facilitate the mounting of a brush 13 for cleansing the sparking wheel 4 of the impurities aixed thereto in its operation. Numeral 14 is a flint.

Referring now to the -operative feature of the invention on the basis of the above mentioned structure thereof, -an actua-ting means in form of a finger piece 5 is given a slight pressure with a .th-umb. Then the igniting mechanism b is operated in the same way as the known igniting mechanism and the wheel 4 and closure cap 1 are turned about the pivotal pin 2.

Then .the tappet portions 11, 11 of the closure cap 1 will come int-o contact with the bifurcated ends 10, 10 of the operating plate 6 after the tappet portions 11, 11 of the cap 1 have been moved -by a predetermined distance l of their stroke (refer to the solid lines indicated in FIG. 2). And, then the operating plate 6 will be uplifted with the fulcrumed end 7 thereof as the center of the movement (re-fer to the chain lines indicated in FIG. 2) and the nozzle 9 will also be lifted against the sparing self-contained therein in engagement with the recess 8 provided centrally of the operating plate 6, so that the valve element will be opened and the gas contained in the reservoir is free to be emitted out of the nozzle 9. The sparking wheel 2 is rot-ated coaxially with the closure cap 1 and strikes the contacting surface of the int 14 to produce a row of sparks.

It is to be noted that the tappet portions 11, 11 are not engaged with t-he ends 10, 10 of the operating plate from the beginning but after they have moved by some predetermined distance of their stroke of rotary movement about the pivotal pin 2. From the standpoint of the whole stroke of the movement of the finger piece 5, the striking of the flint is performed in the beginning of the movement and the ignition is made only after the finger piece 5 has moved some distance and the valve element is opened, so that the flow of superuous gas can be prevented.

After the igniting action is ended, the finger piece 5 may be released and then not only the igniting mechanism can recoil to its former state by a conventional spring means, .but also the operating plate 6 is disengaged from the tappet portions 11, 11 by the recoiling of the closure cap 1 and can be restored to its resting position by the resiliency given by .the self-contained spring means, so that the valve of the burner element is closed completely and the fiarne can be extinguished.

In the foregoing structure of the present invention, it is to be noted that the closure cap coming into engagement with the finger piece can be timed most suitably with the ignition of the burner element, or in other words, the tappet portions can be projectedlly mounted to the closure gap so that the former may come in touch with the operating plate after the closure cap has been rotated some prefixed distance of their stroke and the t-ime of coming into engagement of the closure cap with the operating -plate may be adjusted to the most suitable time of ignition of the sparking wheel, and thus the superfluous ow of gas can be prevented and the safety of the igniting unit can be maintained.

We claim:

1. A gas lighter comprising, in combination, a container adapted to contain a fuel gas under pressure; cornbined valve and nozzle means carried by said container movable between a closed position and an open position for discharging in said open position fuel gas from said container through the open end of said nozzle means; an operating member connected to said combined valve and nozzle means and mounted on said container movable between an inactive position and an active position and moving in said active position said combined valve and nozzle means to said open position, said operating member having a free end; a closure cap having a closure portion and an operating portion and being mounted on said container movable from a first position in which 4 -said closure portion engages said open end of said combined valve and nozzle means and said operating portion is spaced a predetermined distance from and is out of contact with said free end of said operating member to a second position in which said closure pontion is spaced from said opening and said operating portion engages said free end lof said operating member from said second position to a third position during which it moves said operating member from said inactive to said active position; a spark wheel turnably mounted on said container adjacent said open end of said combined valve and nozzle means and cooperating with a flint to produce during rotation a row of sparks directed toward said open end; and actuating means connected to said closure cap and said spark wheel for moving, when actuated, first said cap `from said first to said second position and for simultaneously rotating said spark wheel and then moving said cap .from said second to said third position thereof for further rotating said spark wheel and simultaneously therewith moving said combined valve and nozzle means to said open position thereof, whereby said combined valve and nozzle means will be moved to s-aid open position only after said spark Wheel has been rotated through a certain angle to thus prevent undesired discharge of fuel gas before creation of sparks by said spark wheel.

2. A gas lighter as defined in claim 1, wherein said operating member is a lever connected intermediate its ends to said combined valve and nozzle means and abutting with one end against a projection on said container while the opposite end of said lever is located in the path said operating portion of said closure cap describes during movement of the latter from said first to said second position.

3. A gas lighter as defined in claim 2, wherein said closure cap and said spark wheel are connected with each other and are turnable about a common axis.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,641,118 I6/1953 Edelson (S7-7.1 2,671,328 3/1954 Flarnrn 67--7.1 2,691,882 10/1954 Meller 67-7.1 2,743,597 5/ 1956 Newman 67-7.1 3,092,988 6/1963 Meyers 67-7.1 3,251,202 5/ 1966 Racek 67-7.1

EDWARD I. MICHAEL, Primary Examiner. 

1. A GAS LIGHTER COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A CONTAINER ADAPTED TO CONTAIN A FUEL GAS UNDER PRESSURE; COMBINED VALVE AND NOZZLE MEANS CARRIED BY SAID CONTAINER MOVABLE BETWEEN A CLOSED POSITION AND AN OPEN POSITION FOR DISCHARGING IN SAID OPEN POSITION FUEL GAS FROM SAID CONTAINER THROUGH THE OPEN END OF SAID NOZZLE MEANS; AN OPERATING MEMBER CONNECTED TO SAID COMBINED VALVE AND NOZZLE MEANS AND MOUNTED ON SAID CONTAINER MOVABLE BETWEEN AN INACTIVE POSITION AND AN ACTIVE POSITION AND MOVING IN SAID ACTIVE POSITION SAID COMBINED VALVE AND NOZZLE MEANS TO SAID OPEN POSITION, SAID OPERATING MEMBER HAVING A FREE END; A CLOSURE CAP HAVING A CLOSURE PORTION AND AN OPERATING PORTION AND BEING MOUNTED ON SAID CONTAINER MOVABLE FROM A FIRST POSITION IN WHICH SAID CLOSURE PORTION ENGAGES SAID OPEN END OF SAID COMBINED VALVE AND NOZZLE MEANS AND SAID OPERATING PORTION IS SPACED A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE FROM AND IS OUT OF CONTACT WITH SAID FREE END OF SAID OPERATING MEMBER TO A SECOND POSITION IN WHICH SAID CLOSURE PORTION IS SPACED FROM SAID OPENING AND SAID OPERATING PORTION ENGAGES SAID FREE END OF SAID OPERATING MEMBER FROM SAID SECOND POSITION TO A THIRD POSITION DURING WHICH IT MOVES SAID OPERATING MEMBER FROM SAID INACTIVE TO SAID ACTIVE POSITION; A SPARK WHEEL TURNABLY MOUNTED ON SAID CONTAINER ADJACENT SAID OPEN END OF SAID COMBINED VALVE AND NOZZLE MEANS AND COOPERATING WITH A FLINT TO PRODUCE DURING ROTATION A ROW OF SPARKS DIRECTED TOWARD SAID OPEN END; AND ACTUATING MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID CLOSURE CAP AND SAID SPARK WHEEL FOR MOVING, WHEN ACTUATED, FIRST SAID CAP FROM SAID FIRST TO SAID SECOND POSITION AND FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY ROTATING SAID SPARK WHEEL AND THEN MOVING SAID CAP FROM SAID SECOND TO SAID THIRD POSITION THEREOF FOR FURTHER ROTATING SAID SPARK WHEEL AND SIMULTANEOUSLY THEREWITH MOVING SAID COMBINED VALVE AND NOZZLE MEANS TO SAID OPEN POSITION THEREOF, WHEREBY SAID COMBINED VALVE AND NOZZLE MEANS WILL BE MOVED TO SAID OPEN POSITION ONLY AFTER SAID SPARK WHEEL HAS BEEN ROTATED THROUGH A CERTAIN ANGLE TO THUS PREVENT UNDESIRED DISCHARGE OF FUEL GAS BEFORE CREATION OF SPARKS BY SAID SPARK WHEEL. 